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Kin watched as her little brother zoomed around their shared apartment like he was being chased, “Remind me again why you’re getting so worked up?”
Seitou didn’t slow down in the slightest, “Oh I don’t know, maybe because I’m going on a date with my best friend?”
“Okay, but why are you acting like you slept all day and woke up just in time to get ready? I thought you said they wouldn’t be here until five? You’ve got like an hour.”
“But what if they show up early? What if the outfit I picked out is too fancy? What if it’s not fancy enough?”
Kin sighed, “You know, this family was only supposed to have one gay disaster.” She stood up off the couch she’d been laying on and grabbed Seitou by the shoulders as he passed her again, “Seitou, my adorable little brother who I love very much, please, for the love of Ra, take a chill pill.”
“But-”
Kin cut him off, “Uh uh, no buts. You’ve known them for what? Like three years at this point? Do you really think they planned something super extravagant knowing you hate that kind of shit? Do you think they don’t know you’re probably running yourself ragged right now trying to make sure things are perfect on your end?”
Seitou opened his mouth to answer, but a notification interrupted him. He pulled his phone out and then blushed, “...okay maybe you’ve got a point.” He turned it around so Kin could see the screen. It was a text from the person in question saying, “What you picked out will be fine, don’t forget to breathe, if I do show up early it will only be by a few minutes. I’ll see you soon.”
Kin smirked, “Damn, they’ve got you on lock. Maybe you should get the ring ready tonight.”
Seitou let out an embarrassed groan, “Please don’t tease me nee-san.”
“Nah, big sister rules say I get to tease you as much as I want. It’s in the contract.”
Seitou smirked, “Pretty sure there’s a sub heading where it talks about teasing your little brother who’s going on a date unlike you.”
Kin chuckled, “Cheep shot. Not my fault most lesbians aren’t looking for a former rich kid. They want an actual rich kid so they can play housewife.”
“Don’t worry nee-san, I’m sure there’s a lesbian out there just waiting to scoop up a former rich kid with mommy and daddy issues.”
Kin lightly shoved him, “I think I liked you better when you didn’t know how to clap back.”
“Sorry, my innocence left with my stutter.”
Kin laughed, “And thank Ra for that. I love you, but I don’t know if I could’ve dealt with the stutter forever.”
Seitou sighed, “I’m glad too. Getting away from those two certainly helped.”
Kin moved towards the kitchen, “I’ll thank you to keep their memory out of this house. I just hope they don’t try and have another kid and ruin their life too.”
Seitou shuddered, “Considering it’s been three years at this point, I’m pretty sure we’d know about another Shimetani kid.”
“We can only hope they made the smart choice of quitting while they were behind.” She grabbed a beer bottle out of the fridge, “Feeling better yet?”
Seitou let out a breath, “A little.”
“You wanna duel to take the edge off?”
Seitou shook his head, “I think…I’m gonna go work on some homework. Put the energy somewhere else.”
Kin nodded, “Sounds good. Have fun then.”
Seitou nodded before returning to his room. Kin smirked, “My kid brother, going on a date. How dare?”
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Seitou realistically knew how much time had passed while he’d been doing homework, but despite that when he finally looked at the clock after working on a paper for his Dueling Literature class, he was still surprised to see it was only a few minutes to five. Luckily he was already dressed so he didn’t have to worry about getting ready quickly, but as he started to take in his surroundings, he heard voices coming from the other room…both of them familiar.
“Crap.” He immediately got up from his desk and moved towards the lounge of the apartment. Just as he feared, Yuni was talking with Kin, “Yuni!”
Yuni’s smile widened as they turned to face him, “Seitou! Hey! I was just-”
“Did she say anything embarrassing?”
Kin let out an offended gasp, “How dare? I’ve been entertaining our guest for the past few minutes and instead of thanking me you’ve decided to insult-”
“A ‘yes’ would have been faster.”
Kin cackled, “Yeah, but where’s the fun in that? Calm down, I kept it tame. They just know you have a weak spot for rom-coms now.”
Yuni chuckled, “If it makes you feel better, I do too.”
Seitou’s hands came up to catch his head, “This is what I get for doing my homework like a responsible human being.”
He felt a pair of hands on his own, Yuni gently bringing them down, “Hi.”
Seitou flushed, “Hi.”
“Do you think I care that you like rom-coms?”
Seitou looked away, “...no.”
“Do you think that I think any less of you for not meeting me at the door?”
“...no.”
“Then can we go so I can show you how much you mean to me?”
“...can I get my coat first?”
Yuni chuckled, “Sure thing. I’ll meet you by the door.”
Seitou breathed a sigh of relief as he retreated to his room, grabbing his coat from the closet and putting it on before leaving again and meeting Yuni at the door. He heard them saying, “Good to talk with you more Kin.”
Kin waved, beer in hand, “Don’t keep him out all night yeah? I’ve got shit to do in the morning and I don’t wanna get woken up.”
Yuni nodded, “Sure thing.”
Seitou called back as he pulled the door open, “Love you nee-san.”
“Love you too squirt.”
Yuni quickly left through the open door so Seitou could pull it closed and lock it with a key he retrieved from his pocket. He turned to them, “So, where to?”
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Yuni would be the first to admit, they’d never expected to fall for their best friend. When they first met Seitou, they’d noticed how timid the boy had been and had wanted to help him come out of whatever shell he was hiding in. But as that shell broke away, Yuni soon found their heart pounding with every bold step he took.
When Seitou found his sister again? *Ba-thump*
When Seitou renounced his family’s name and left home? *Ba-thump*
When Seitou helped them save the world? Oh you better believe their heart went *Ba-thump*.
Astel and Elzy teased them to high hell for it, but Yuni didn’t care. Seeing how brave Seitou had become made Yuni want to channel their own bravery for a moment. So here they were, walking down the sidewalk after leaving one of the few sit-down diners Potentia still had.
Yuni gave their stomach a light pat, “Damn, that food was incredible. If we didn’t have a schedule to keep, I'd have asked for seconds.”
Seitou nodded, “Agreed. Speaking of which, are you finally gonna tell me what you have planned?”
Yuni grinned as they tapped a finger to their lips, “Sorry, but you’re just gonna have to wait until we get there.”
Seitou gave an exaggerated sigh, “Fine then. Keep your secrets.”
Yuni reached for Seitou’s hand, taking it in their own, “Don’t worry you won’t have to wait long. Especially…if we run!” Seitou cried out in surprise as Yuni tightened their grip and began to drag Seitou behind them. Yuni laughed as Seitou tried his best to keep up with them, giving out apologies to anyone they almost crashed into. Soon enough though Yuni slowed down and allowed Seitou to catch up and catch his breath.
Seitou put a hand to his chest, “You know I hear it’s bad form to kill your date when you’re out in public.”
Yuni stuck their tongue out at him, “Well I never claimed to have good manners. Besides, we’re here now.”
Seitou looked around, taking in his surroundings, before his eyes widened as they landed on a large building nearby, “Wait…you didn’t.”
Yuni grinned from ear to ear, “Oh I very much did.” The Potentia Museum of Dueling History was one of the most popular tourist attractions in Potentia and Seitou went to the museum so much he’d been offered a job there several times and Yuni knew he was oh so tempted each time. But there was a special exhibit being hosted at the museum that week, one Yuni had been very lucky to score tickets to. They pulled the tickets out of their pocket, “I scored these the second the exhibit was announced. You really think I wouldn’t take you to see an exhibit about the Five-Headed Dragon?”
Seitou’s eyes landed on the tickets, “I could kiss you.”
“I wouldn’t say no.”
This time it was Seitou taking Yuni’s hand, “Come on!”
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Seitou couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled so much. Visiting the museum was already one of his favorite things to do with his love of dueling history, but a special exhibit with a focus on his second favorite monster of all time (the first being his Combined Creation)? Oh he was in heaven. Yuni seemed to be having fun too if their own smile was any indication.
Seitou was currently looking at the scale model of Five-Headed Dragon they’d set up in the center of the exhibit room admiring the detail of the scales and the mix of colors on the model, “They really did go all out for this exhibit.”
“I mean it’s one of the most famous monsters in dueling history. I’d be more surprised if they didn’t.”
Seitou nodded in agreement, “You know it’s a shame most people only remember it as the boss monster for The Big Five and Truman. Imagine if someone like Yusei Fudo or Revolver had used him?”
Yuni chuckled, “Well, maybe you can talk to Soyogi-san? Pretty sure he’d be willing to help you make Five-Headed Dragon easier to use so you can make it more well known.”
Seitou shook his head, turning from the model to look at Yuni, “Nah. My Mementos and I have been through too much to even think about switching decks.”
Seitou moved to turn back towards the model, but heard a small voice from beside him, “Um…excuse me?”
Seitou turned to see a young girl standing next to him, looking very nervous. Seitou leaned down, placing his hands on his knees, “Hello there, can I help you?”
The young girl shuffled from foot to foot, “Um…a-are you Seitou Shimetani?”
Seitou smiled, “I am. Have you been watching my duels?”
The young girl nodded, “I-I haven’t missed a s-single one since you f-first started.”
Seitou felt his heart warm at that, “That’s wonderful. I’m glad I have such a dedicated fan. What’s your name?”
The girl was shy as she said, “M-Minori.”
Seitou crouched down a little lower, “Would you like an autograph Minori?”
Minori nodded, “A-...a-and would you b-be willing to look a-at my deck?”
Seitou nodded as he pulled a pen out of his coat pocket, “I’d love to.”
The girl held out her deck and Seitou thanked her before fanning it out. His eyes widened, “This is…”
The little girl flushed, “I-I know a d-deck made of demons i-isn’t very cute…but I r-really like them.”
Seitou began to get flashbacks to when he made the Lament deck for his sister, ‘Seems like there’s hope for the future after all nee-san.’ He handed her back the deck, “You’ve got a very strong foundation Minori. And take it from me, there’s nothing wrong with playing a deck you like. Even if you think people will judge you for playing something that doesn’t match your looks, don’t try and change for them. My sister had to do that when we were growing up and it caused her to almost give up on dueling entirely.”
Minori’s eyes widened, “R-really?”
Seitou nodded, “Mhm. So, which card would you like me to sign?”
Minori quickly searched through her deck before holding out Doom Regina Archfiend, “Th-this one is my favorite.”
Seitou carefully took the card before signing the back of it, “I think it suits you wonderfully.” He gave her the card back, “Here. Now, go have fun and never let anyone tell you what you can and can’t play, okay?”
Minori smiled as she held the card close to her, “Okay!” She began to run in the direction she came from, waving her hand as she did, “Thank you Shimetani-san!”
Seitou felt his heart warm as he stood back up, ‘Looks like this name can do some good after all.’
He was broken out of his thoughts by a pair of lips on his cheek. He flinched slightly, jumping back as Yuni giggled, “Sorry, you looked so cute I couldn’t help myself.” They held their hand out, “Now come on, there’s still a lot to look at.”
Seitou smiled, his cheeks warm as he took their hand, “Sure thing.”
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Their pair were laughing as they climbed the steps towards Seitou’s apartment, trying to keep it down since people were already sleeping, “I still can’t believe you had that essay about the history of the Signers ready to go in your head.”
Seitou chuckled, “What can I say? When information is readily available, don’t get into an argument you’re not ready to fight.”
Yuni cackled, “Where did the shy innocent Seitou I met at Duel Academy go?”
Seitou smiled as he gripped their hand tighter, “Guess he wanted to be something more for the person who liked his first name more than his surname.”
Yuni smirked, “That person must have been incredibly smart to do that.”
Seitou gave them a small nudge, “They are.”
Seitou didn’t want the night to end, but all too soon, they were at his door. Seitou’s hand felt cold as he let go of theirs, “Well…guess this is it.”
Yuni smiled sadly, “Yeah…guess so.”
Seitou could feel the tension in the air, knowing what he wanted to say, but too nervous to actually say it, “...Y-yuni I-”
“I wanna do this again.”
Seitou’s eyes widened as Yuni turned away, blushing, “Y-you know…like…more dates and stuff.”
Seitou felt the tension leave his body at their words, “That’s good…because I want that too.”
Yuni’s head snapped up, “Really?”
Seitou nodded, “Mhm. I really enjoyed tonight and I’d love to go out again.”
Yuni seemed relieved at his answer, “Thank Ra…I was nervous there for a-”
Yuni was cut off as Seitou decided to pull their trick on them and kissed them on the cheek, “Sorry…you were too cute.”
Yuni’s face wet as red as their hair, “...cool…cool cool cool. Yep…okay that just happened.”
Seitou chuckled, “Good night Yuni.”
Yuni stiffly turned and started walking towards the stairs, “Night!”
Seitou chuckled again as he unlocked and opened the door to his apartment, still smiling as he closed it again.
“So? How’d it go? They lay a big ol wet one on ya?”
Seiotu wasn’t even surprised Kin was up despite saying she has things to do in the morning, “Actually yes. But only on the cheek.”
Kin rolled her eyes, “Laaaaaaame. Where’s the spice in that?”
Seitou began to walk towards his room, “Good night Kin.”
“Night you little goober.”
Seitou closed the door to his room behind him, blushing as he took his coat off, ‘...it really was nice. I hope we do it again soon.’
The thought made his smile come back.